General Information

The academic programs of the School of Architecture encompass
the broad range of concerns, disciplines, and sensitivities expressed in Thomas
Jeffersons timeless design for the University, his "academical village,"
which is widely considered to be one of the most significant achievements of
American architecture.

Four distinct, yet increasingly interrelated, disciplines provide a rich setting for professional education. Architecture and Landscape architecture seek to integrate the academic and professional aspects of their disciplines in the belief that design skills must be responsive to cultural, historical, and physical context as much as to functional need. Architectural History aims to develop an awareness of the value of the past. Urban and Environmental Planning addresses community sustainability and the balance between environment, economy, and social equity. The Common Course (SARC 600), a course required of graduate students in all departments, explores themes common to architecture, architectural history, landscape architecture, and urban and environmental planning. In addition to this and other courses regularly offered in each discipline, the curricula provide ample interdisciplinary opportunities for the exploration of such diverse contemporary issues as urbanism, energy conservation, social equity, environmental protection, preservation, and adaptive re-use.

The School of Architecture offers four graduate programs leading
to the Master of Architecture, the Master of Landscape Architecture, the Master
of Architectural History, and the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning.
In conjunction with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, it also offers
a Doctor of Philosophy in the History of Architecture. The programs are accredited
by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the Landscape Architecture
Accreditation Board, and the Planning Accreditation Board; and the school holds
memberships in the Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the Association of Collegiate
Schools of Planning, the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the
National Council for Preservation Education, the Society of Architectural Historians,
and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition to the graduate
degree programs, the school offers two interdisciplinary programs of study,
one leading to the Certificate in Historic Preservation and the other to the
Certificate in American Urbanism.

The full-time faculty numbers about 45, augmented by 20 to 30 visiting lecturers and critics from this country and abroad who bring to students their varied perspectives and wide-ranging experience. The student body averages approximately 530 students, of whom about 200 are graduate students.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professorship in Architecture
has been funded since 1965 by an annual grant from the same foundation that
has guided the restoration and preservation of Monticello, the home of Thomas
Jefferson. The foundation also awards an annual medal and honorarium to a practitioner
or teacher of international distinction and has established two fellowships
that are awarded annually to outstanding graduate students in the School of
Architecture.

The Institute for Environmental Negotiation, established in
1981, is affiliated with the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning
and has become a major resource for the resolution of land-use and environmental
conflicts. In addition, the institute awards three or four assistantships each
year that provide graduate students with training and experience in negotiation
and consensus building.

Mr. Jeffersons legacy seems as appropriate and alive
today as it did in 1819 when the University was founded; and it is one of the
imperatives of that legacy, and a central educational aim of this school, that
students understand their culture as well as their profession. Since we expect
to play major roles in the analysis, planning, design, development, and protection
of the physical environment, nationally and internationally, we are charged
with that most difficult of tasks: the development of "the whole person,"
one who understands how a craft is connected to a society, who appreciates the
larger context of life, and who seeks elegant and practical approaches to its
ever-changing needs. Jefferson sought "useful knowledge" and was able
to fashion that knowledge artfully. We take that as our tradition also. Seen
in this light, "profession" is raised to the level of art, and when
that art serves life, lasting culture results.

Facilities

Campbell Hall, the School of Architecture building, was completed in 1970 and is part of a complex of buildings forming a Fine Arts Precinct that also includes the Department of Art, the Department of Drama, and the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library. Campbell Hall provides well-equipped studio work areas, exhibition spaces, lecture halls, and seminar rooms. The school has two computer-graphics and computer-aided design laboratories with high-resolution graphics. These facilities support software applications in computer aided design, GIS digital mapping and modeling, site analysis, image processing, rendering, animation, structural analysis, lighting analysis, energy analysis, statistics, word processing, spreadsheet, and other areas. They also contain Macintosh, and Windows computers with Internet access and maintain digital voice and video links with other research laboratories in the United States and Europe. The design studio space has network connections for individual computers. Other research support facilities include digital modeling laboratories, a CNC fabrication laboratory and a woodworking shop.

The Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library, a branch of the University
of Virginia Library system, serves the School of Architecture, the Department
of Art and Art History and the Department of Drama. The collections include
155,000 volumes, including technical reports, videos, CD-ROMs, and other electronic
resources. We also have an image collection of 200,000 slides and a growing
digital image collection. The collections cover all aspects related to architecture,
landscape architecture, architectural history, urban and environmental planning,
and the visual and performing arts. The Fine Arts Library provides patrons with
access to all University Library resources, including government documents,
maps, rare books and manuscripts, many other online resources, as well as a
gateway to the Internet. Special emphasis is placed on teaching students and
faculty to conduct research utilizing online resources. Reference services are
provided to the entire University community and to practitioners throughout
the Commonwealth and the nation.

Student Honors and Awards

Both the school and professional organizations from the fields
of architectural history, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and
environmental planning recognize outstanding achievements with the following
honors and awards.

The Stanley and Helen Abbott Award is awarded by the
faculty of Landscape Architecture to graduating students in that program for
outstanding promise in the field of landscape architecture.

The Alpha Rho Chi Medal is awarded annually to the graduating
student in Architecture who has shown leadership ability, has performed willing
service for the school and department, and who demonstrates promise of real
professional merit through his or her attitude and personality.

The American Institute of Architects School Medal is
awarded annually to the outstanding graduate student in Architecture. The award
is supported by an endowment fund established in 1914 in the estate of the late
Henry Adams.

The American Planning Association Award is presented
annually to the graduate and undergraduate students exhibiting outstanding achievement
in urban and environmental planning.

The American Institute of Certified Planner Award is
presented annually to a graduate and undergraduate student demonstrating outstanding
promise as a professional planner.

The Virginia Citizens Planners Association Award is
presented annually to a graduate and undergraduate student exhibiting the ideal
of service to the public interest through planning.

The American Society of Landscape Architects Certificates
of Honor and Merit are awarded to outstanding graduating students in the
Landscape Architecture.

The Architectural History Faculty Book Award is awarded
annually to a graduating student from the Department of Architectural History.

The Clark Group Construction, Inc. Awardis given
each year to a student exhibiting overall achievement and professional promise
in the fields of construction and building technologies.

The Paul S. Dulaney Conservation and Preservation Award
is given each year to an outstanding student in urban and environmental planning
who has contributed to the field through outstanding academic work.

The Benjamin C. Howland Traveling Fellowshipis
awarded each year to a graduating student in Landscape Architecture.

The Betty Leake Service Award is awarded annually to
a graduating student from the Department of Architectural History.

The Sarah McArthur Nix Traveling Fellowship is awarded
to a third-year undergraduate or graduate student from Architecture for a summer
of study/travel in France.

The Frederick Doveton Nichols Award for Outstanding Academic
Achievement is made each year for outstanding academic achievement to a
graduate and an undergraduate student in the Department of Architectural History.

The Carlo Pelliccia Traveling Fellowship for study in
Italy is awarded each year.

The Lori Ann Pristo Award is made each year to the graduate
student in architecture with the highest grade point average.

The RTKL Fellowshipis awarded each year to a
graduate architecture student.

The Sean Steele-Nicholson Memorial Award, in
memory of Sean Steele-Nicholson (BS Arch 91), is presented each year at
graduation to a student who has exhibited overall excellence in design and scholarship
and an enthusiasm, joy, and wonder for architecture, coupled with the ability
to instill these qualities in others.